Whimsical and quirky, Inkpikle sums up her design philosophy/ideology, says designer Aathira Manali. Like how what goes into a pickle comes out with a very different, distinct form and flavour; she wants to give tradition a modern, unconventional twist. The ink in the pickle comes from her screen printing/dyeing techniques. Her material of choice, more of a preoccupation, is khadi. An interest born out of seeing her father wear khadi, a love born out of shopping trips to Khadi Gramodyog outlets.
The perception and presentation of khadi has changed vastly over the years, the last couple of years especially have seen a number of designers work with the fabric, changing its narrative along the way. The lure of khadi lies in the varieties available, combined with it being eco-friendly. Aathira’s take too is chic and contemporary, she fashions tunics, dresses, shirts and such.
Effortlessly elegant is how she describes khadi, “it has always been associated with the old, I wanted to change this mindset. I want to promote it for power dressing. If styled well, khadi could work for any occasion. My clothing line fits anyone who is not just looking for pretty clothes, but a soul or a story in what they wear, a strong Indian identity, aesthetics and a conscience.”
Inkpikle garments are literally made at home, out of her home in Mattanchery. She launched her label in April, on Facebook first, ‘just to see’. It was the result of more than a year of hard work and research. Working with khadi might sound as easy as going to the nearest Khadi Gramodyog outlet but it is not.
“I researched different government khadi undertakings such as those in Nandyattukunnam, Vadakkanchery and Payyannur. I learnt more about the fabric, attempted to create new designs in the weave but found out it is difficult to interfere with ‘government designs’. Although there are people who have been working proudly for more than 20 years, there are many who are quitting,” she says. She found out much to her shock that the wages for weaving a kazhi (hank of handspun yarn), which demanded three hours of work, was around Rs. 4. That the wages for working an eight-hour day were meagre.
The idealism of a 24-year-old makes her feel responsible, think of ways of contributing to changing the status. “I realised that it is a social responsibility to create/improve demand and thereby better the status of the people. Also for fair-trade because while the power mill is operated by someone who is multitasking and just switching on the machine, it takes complete attention and time to create handspun yarn. Also as khadi is made mostly from natural sources like cotton, silk wool, and is spun and woven manually, it has the lowest carbon footprint.”
After graduating from NIFT, in 2014, Aathira worked with an export house in Bengaluru before returning home, to Kerala last year. Returning is an unlikely choice for a young person, “but I always wanted to come back and work from here,” she says earnestly. A small studio and a couple of tailors make up her staff, she also outsources production. She sources her fabric from Nandyattukunnam, the Khadi Gramodyog outlet here and a cluster in Kolkata, where she gets custom weaving done.
She has stumbled, made mistakes and found her way while forging her identity as designer. She spent two weeks going to Broadway to learn how to screen print. “There was no other way. I went and told the person I had to learn the technique and I did.” She now does her own screen printing, experimenting with dyeing techniques, inks, pigments, batik and marbling too.
Khadi, types of khadi, khadi clusters is all Aathira talks. Her interest is not for a season or a collection, “Inkpikle exclusively works with it, creating value for the artisan, environment, and providing innovation for the customer.” Her head full of ideas, she suggests, “it could even work as bridal wear - for someone who wants to be an understated bride and make a difference.”
Apart from her Facebook page, she also retails at Aambal in Fort Kochi, A Few Good Things, Kadavanthara and Monsoon in Ahmedabad. Her curated line for Khadi Gramodyog, Kochi, is set to go live. Plans she has many and one close to her heart is opening a stand alone store in Fort Kochi.
